Apparatus for liming wire



, Get. 23, 1934. c. D. JOHNSON APPARATUS FOR LIMlING WIRE Filed July 16, 1951 to pro id a ov Patented Oct. 23, 1934 pun-Eb STATES PATENT ore-Ice "1,973,050. PP AT S FOR tr i G WIRE .Charles D. Johnson, Worcester, Mass, assignor to Johnson Steel &

Wire Company, 1110.,

l vorcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 16, 1931,

4 Claims.

more or less violently agitated. The useof steam for this purpose, however, gradually dilutes the lime bath because of the continual condensation of steam therein so that at the end of any given period of time, suchforinstance as a days run, the, lime bath willbe considerably thinner than at thebeginning of said period. As a result it is necessary .toadd lime to the bath from. time to time in .order to. maintain it at substantially c ns ant tr i 1 t Qne of the objects of the present. invention is e1 apparatus for liming wire which is so constructed that'the necessary agi tationof the lime water may be carried out without in any way diluting or thinning the lime solution. With my improvements, therefore, the

limebath will have a constant strength from one end of the days run to the other so that all the bundles of wire treated during: the days run or anyother period of time will'be subjected to the sameliming operation.

In prior appar tus wherein steam is used for keeping thebath agitated the introduction of steaminto the bath not only dilutes'it as above statedbut also heatsthe bath and maintains it hot. Where the hot lime bath is used the heat of the bath is apt to melt off some of the so-called sullcoat or rustcoat with which the wire is commonly provided prior to the liming operation and as a result the sullcoat or rustcoat which is left on the wire will be more or less unevenly distributed over the surface thereof.

In the liming apparatus herein disclosed the agitation of the lime is secured without heating the bath and the bath may he, therefore, kept at a cool temperature. This is an advantage because the dipping of the sullcoated or rustcoated wire into acool lime bath tends to harden and set the sullcoat rather than to melt it off and the application of the lime coating to the wire is effected without distributing in any way the previously applied sullcoat.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel construction which is provided with means for continuously straining or screening the lime bath thereby removing therefrom any sand, grit Serial No. 551,071 (01. 91-46) or other foreign matter which islikely to injure the dies through which the wire is drawn or'to cause imperfections in the wire during the draw ing operation. v

One way of securing the above-mentioned objects of the invention is by providing mea s for withdrawing the-lime water fromthe bottom of the lime vat and introducing it again to the top of thevat thus keeping up a constant circulation of lime water through the vat or tank.

Inthefdrawing whereinI have illustrated a selected embodiment of my invention, Big. 1 is a perspective view of a liming apparatus embod ing the invention; f Y

Fig'l2 is a section on the line 2+2, Fig. 1;

*Fig. 3 is a section on the 1ine3 3, Fig. 1.

In the drawing 1 indicates a lime vatadapted to contain lime water and. 2 indicates bundles or wire which are shown as immersed in thelirne water for thepurpose of beinglimed; These bundles are shown as carried by a suitable car rier' indicated generally at 3 and which a m. prises a crossbar 4adapted to rest on the top of the vat 1 and a wire-supporting bar 5 suspended fromthe cross bare. One end of this wire-supporting bar 5 is pivoted at 6 to an arm '7 depending from the cross bar 4 and'theoth'er end of the wire supporting bar 5 is adapted tobe I detachably secured to the end of another suspender arm' 8' depending from the other end of the bar i. I

As shown the suspender arm8 is bifurcated at its end tore-ceive the end 9 of the bar 5 and'lsaid bar 5 is locked to the Suspender Sbymeans'hf a pin 10 inserted through the suspender 8 and end 9 of the wire-supporting bar 5. The cross bar 4 is provided with an eye bolt 11 to which a chain, cable or other lifting element 12 may be attached for lifting the wire carrier 3 and the wire from the tank and transporting the wire to any desired location. This form of wire carrier is representative of aconstruction which is more or less commonly used in wire-liming operations.

In accordance with my present invention I provide means for withdrawing the lime water from the bottom of the vat 1 and delivering it back into the vat through the top thereof thereby keeping the lime water thoroughly agitated. As herein shown the vat l is provided with a sloping or conical bottom 13 and connected to this bottom is a pipe connection 14 which leads to the inlet of a suitable pump 15. The discharge of the pump communicates with a discharge pipe 16 which is constructed to deliver into the vat 1. When the pump is in operation the lime water is withdrawn from the bottom of the tank 1 and returned to the top thereof thereby keeping it thoroughly agitated.

Means are preferably provided for straining the lime water as it is delivered back to the tank again. For this purpose the tank is provided near its top with a side extension 1'7 forming a sort of hopper which communicates with the interior of the vat 1 through an opening in the side wall of the vat. This opening is adapted to be closed by a screen 18 which forms a partition between the hopper 1'7 and the vat 1. The end 19 of the delivery pipe 16 is arranged to deliver into the hopper 1'7 and the lime water which is thus withdrawn from the bottom of the tank 1 is delivered back into the hopper 17 and then flows back into the tank through the strainer 18, the function of which is to strain the lime water and to remove any sand, grit or other foreign matter which may be contained in the lime water. The presence of such sand or grit not only is apt to injure the dies but is also harmful to the wire being drawn in that it is likely to produce imperfections therein. By thus continually screening the lime bath the latter will be kept free from these harmful ingredients with .the result that the dies will last longer and a better quality of wire can be produced. 1

The screen 18 is preferably removable so that it can be taken out to be cleaned or repaired. As herein shown the screen is provided with a frame 20 which is mounted in suitable guiding ways 21 formed at the sides of the opening between the hopper 17 and the tank 1. This screen can be removed by simply lifting it out of the guiding ways 1 and can be easily replaced. With this construction the lime water in the tank 1 is kept circulating through the tank and is thus kept constantly agitated and this agitation, which prevents the lime from settling, is accomplished without changing in any way the character of the lime water, as is done where the agitation is accomplished by means of steam. Furthermore, with this apparatus there is no heating of the lime water during the agitation so that the lime bath may be kept at a cool temperature which is found to give advantageous results in that the application of the lime coat to the wire may be secured without melting or disturbing the previously applied sullcoat.

Another advantage of maintaining the lime bath at a cool temperature is that the cold lime sticks to the wire better than hot lime and lubrithereof, a removable screen forming the dividing wall or partition between the hopper and the tank,

whereby liquid delivered to the hopper flows through the screen into the tank, and a pump device to withdraw lime water from the bottom of the tank and deliver it to the hopper.

2. An apparatus for liming wire comprising a lime tank to contain lime water, said tank being open at its top to permit bundles of wire to be dipped thereinto and removed therefrom, a hopper secured to the side wall of the tank on the exterior thereof, a screen forming the partition or dividing wall between the hopper and the tank, and means to withdraw lime water from the bottom of the tank and deliver it to the hopper, said lime water flowing from the hopper through the screen into the tank.

3. An apparatus for liming wire comprising a lime tank to contain lime water, said tank being open at the top to permit bundles of wire to be dipped thereinto and removed therefrom, a hopper integral with the tank on one side thereof and situated exterior thereof, the wall of the tank having an opening where the hopper is located to provide communication between the hopper and tank, a removable screen normally closing said opening, and a pump device to withdraw lime water from the bottom of the tank and deliver it to the hopper, said lime water flowing from the hopper into the tank through the screen.

4. An apparatus for liming wire comprising a tank to contain lime water, said tank having a 5 conical bottom and being ope-n at the top to permit bundles of wire to be dipped thereinto and removed therefrom, a hopper secured to the side wall of the tank on the exterior thereof, a screen forming the partition or dividing wall between the hopper and the tank, and a pump element having its inlet connected to the bottom of the tank and its discharge delivering into the hopper and operating to withdraw lime Water from the tank and deliver it to the hopper, the lime water flowing from the hopper into the tank through said screen.

CHAS. D. JOHNSON. 

